Who would have thought 10 years ago that the retailer-logistics relationship between Amazon and FedEx would one day see an end? The FedEx distribution powerhouse and the ever-growing ecommerce juggernaut called Amazon, together operated a juggernaut of global proportions. Who could forget the days where an online Amazon purchase would end with an at-home door delivery within a couple of days? Who would have dreamed that this relationship would end?

This saga had its genesis during Christmas 2013, over 5 years ago, when the combination of a surge in Christmas delivery orders and poor weather across the U.S., prevented FedEx, among others, from meeting the delivery commitment made by ecommerce giants like Amazon. While the logistics organizations change their staffing and operating practices to avoid a repeat performance during subsequent peak shipping periods, the faith in the reliability of the supply chain was broken. A fresh approach was deemed to be needed.

With the growth of its truck fleet in 2014 and the launch of its Prime Air service in the fall of 2015, Amazon has targeted its transportation partners with its own asset-heavy infrastructure, looking to leverage service disruption, i.e. same-day and 2-hour delivery, with laser-focused last-mile delivery practices. FedEx, along with UPS and USPS, have been observing and learning from this Amazon shift in supply chain management, all wary of the potential for this new Amazon model to further erode their traditional ecommerce support role.

While FedEx might be the latest service provider to feel Amazon’s focus on integrating distribution in-house, it is obvious that others are in Amazon’s cross-hairs. Look out UPS, USPS, your turn’s coming up.

As a business executive with oversight of your company’s supply chain, you need to be vigilant of the strategic moves being made by other, key players in the chain. Risk management and risk containment are key practices in today’s world and the Amazon-FedEx scenario should serve as a reminder that relationships can change, suppliers can become buyers and partners can become competitors.

John Gradek is Principal with Dergel Executive Search. His practice covers Executive Search for Supply Chain and Logistics, Manufacturing, Operations and Technology Leadership.

Here is my question: What happens when an executive recruiter “ghosts” you as an executive candidate?

There are tons of articles due to a robust job market that candidates are “ghosting” recruiters during the sourcing and/or after job offers phases. But how do you deal with a top-rated recruiter who “ghosts” executive candidates? This happened a few times to me and I find it frustrating, especially at the executive level.

Thank you,

Chuck in Chicago

Dear Chuck,

Wow.

First, on behalf of all the executive recruiters out there
that care, I’m sorry that someone treated you this way.

Why do people Ghost others? This is a relevant question across the spectrum today, both in our personal lives as well as the business world we live in.

From my perspective, there are three reasons why people
Ghost.

They
are uncomfortable with sharing bad news, or

They
have no news, or

They
don’t care enough to follow up.

Executive recruiters are humans, and as humans, we are not
perfect.

However, “top-rated” recruiters stay “top-rated” knowing that a candidate can be a client at some point in time in the future. All executives that they deal with need to be treated with respect, courtesy and care.

If I was in your shoes, I would take the Ghosting as a sign that the client is not interested in you. You need to look at it as it is their loss, and that they were not the right fit for you. See it as a gift.

Your next role is out there with an employer that
appreciates what you are bringing to the table and sees your value. They also have
made the decision to work with an executive recruiter that reflects their
values.

And as you need to hire for your new employer, you’ll make
sure that you’ll only work with “top-rated” recruiters that care.

Wishing you the best as you continue your career for people
that treat you right,

Samuel

Dear Readers,

Dear Samuel is a feature of our Leadership Blog that deals with questions executives have about their leadership roles and career situations. If you have any questions that you would like Samuel Dergel to address, please send your questions to dearsamuel@dergelsearch.com.

Please note that all
questions asked will be treated in the strictest of confidence and all
identifying material in questions asked will be edited to respect the privacy
of all participants and companies.

I am an executive that is actively exploring new career opportunities. Do you find that retained search firms are the primary source for new roles or networking? Other than leaders that you have worked with in the past, who do you network with and how?

Sally in Seattle

Dear Sally,

A good number of the executives we speak with that are new in a role tell us that they got the role because they are were hired by someone that they’ve worked with before. The reason this happens is because a high level of trust already exists between the person hiring and the person being hired.

Retained search firms are
hired by companies in two instances:

Multiple people are involved in the hiring decision process, and having an outside objective, experienced and trustworthy search partner ensures that a complete search will be done and that a strong pool of qualified candidates will be considered in the hiring decision process. Where a potential candidate is already trustworthy to one of the people in the process, an executive search firm can ensure that this person is properly compared to others. In many cases, the person who is already known and trusted by one of the hiring decision makers is the person that wins. This can include an internal candidate for consideration or an external candidate that is known to or used to work with one of the hiring decision makers.

When there is one key hiring decision maker involved, if they do not have someone they already trust that is interested and available, they will go to search.

The best people to
network with as you look for your new role are those that you have worked with
in the past. They already trust you.

The biggest challenge
many executives have is that they only build their network when they are
looking for their next role.

Successful executives are
always networking, even when in their role.

Your question pretty much
tells me that you are like most executives. You have not invested what you
needed to so you can be as successful as you can be.

Is it too late to build
your network when you are actively looking? No.

However, even if you are
very successful in the building your network in your search process, the
likelihood is, as it is for most executives, that you will ignore your network
once you start working again and let your network go stale.

Networking is a verb. It requires action. If you don’t tend to your network, you won’t have a network that works for you.

An active network to whom
you continually add value to you will keep you in mind for opportunities.

In your situation, I
would focus on adding value to your current network of people you have worked
with in the past, and grow your network of people so that you can begin to add
value to them today so that they will be able to add value to them in the
future. Could this turn into an opportunity in the short-term? Maybe. But if
you are not playing the long game, you come off as desperate, which is the kiss
of death for an executive in transition.

Also, spending time reaching out to recruiters may not be the most effective way to find your next role. Sure, recruiters out there may have the role that fits you, but experience shows that if you are visible and branded, good recruiters will find you if you are what they need to meet their clients’ needs.

Good luck with your search!

Samuel

Dear Readers,

Dear Samuel is a feature of our Leadership Blog that deals with questions executives have about their leadership roles and career situations. If you have any questions that you would like Samuel Dergel to address, please send your questions to dearsamuel@dergelsearch.com.

Please note that all
questions asked will be treated in the strictest of confidence and all
identifying material in questions asked will be edited to respect the privacy
of all participants and companies.

How do I know that most companies do not live up to this
statement? I hear this from top HR Leaders every week. (Complaint No. 1)

Do you want to know what I else HR Leaders grumble about?

They complain when executives without HR experience become
CHRO or Chief People Officer. Nothing makes the ambitious HR Leader that is in
line for the top job more frustrated than when they get passed over by someone
that comes from the business and ‘knows nothing about HR’. (Complaint No. 2)

One of today’s most iconic CEOs is Mary Barra of General Motors. She too spent time in HR in a senior leadership capacity. This has helped her not only understand the various facets of the business that she has cycled through during her career, she is now leading the dynamic people based changes and disrupting the transportation business in the process.

These are just some of the situations where business leaders
are cycling through HR on their way to the top.

The pessimist can look at situations where the Head of People
role goes to an ‘outsider’ from the business and says ‘this is not good for the
company’.

An optimist (count me in here) looks at this and says that
the best way to get a future CEO to truly understand that people are a
company’s most important asset is for them to have an opportunity to do so.

My challenge to HR Leaders: Embrace the opportunity to have your business leaders get hands on HR experience. If you really care about the people and know that if is through people that your business will succeed, take the opportunity to support these business leaders become better People leaders.

Samuel Dergel was recently interviewed by Jack Sweeney for his podcast series called CFO Thought Leader. This was the fourth time I was interviewed by Sweeney, and I enjoyed our conversation once again. I believe you will find the conversation interesting and relevant.

Here are some of the questions addressed in this podcast. (You can listen via the Youtube window on this page, you can download the file or find the iTunes link below)

How involved is the Board when hiring a CFO?

How can a CFO hire go wrong?

How can a CFO going through a hiring process work through the CEO/Board dynamics?

What advice do you offer CFO candidates before their first interview?

If a CFO hire is going to happen, what is the time frame to make it happen?

How do you help CFOs with executive coaching?

What advice would you give a CEO trying to evaluate a CFO candidate?

What part do part-time CFOs play in the market today?

When is the right time for a company to hire their first real CFO?

Who engages an executive search firm for a CFO hire?

What advice do you have for senior finance executives that want to build relationships outside their business?

If any of these topics are of interest to you, you will find this podcast to be worth listening to. (29 minutes)

Which comments resonate most with you? Let me know what you think below, or email us.